California fires turn skies orange

Residents watch helplessly as the orange glow from devastating fires fills the California skyline yesterday.

At least 50,000 acres of forest is under threat from the blazes that have killed one fireman and forced thousands of people to flee their homes. Thick smoke from the flames blotted out the sun.

Overworked firefighters struggled to cope with the inferno, one of the biggest to hit the state.

At least 367 blazes were burning along the Big Sur coastline between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Most were started by lightning, but fire chiefs last night feared more could be sparked by fireworks from Independence Day celebrations.

Resident Kirk Gafill said many people had defied evacuation orders to try to save their homes from the fires which have been burning since last month.

He added: "Firefighters don't have the manpower to secure our houses. We can only rely on ourselves and our neighbours."

Wildfires in California (Pic: Getty)